Japan regrets U.N.'s failure to issue statement condemning N. Korea+

TOKYO, Dec. 21 Kyodo - Prime Minister Naoto Kan voiced regret Tuesday over the U.N. Security Council's failure to issue a statement condemning North Korea's deadly attack last month on a South Korean island.

''I believe it's necessary to send a message from the Security Council to
clearly single out North Korea to condemn its attack, but since that was not
the case, it's disappointing,'' Kan told reporters.
The premier also urged China as a country with large influence and
international responsibility to take action in addressing the heightened
tensions on the Korean Peninsula.
The Security Council effectively gave up its efforts to adopt the statement
against North Korea apparently due to China's reluctance to adopt a statement
of such kind.
According to Security Council diplomats, China, a close ally of the North, did
not back any wording that would have condemned North Korea for its past
actions, which include not only the November shelling but also the March 26
sinking of a South Korean naval vessel.
The Security Council was trying to adopt the statement in an emergency meeting
convened on the weekend to address fresh tensions on the Korean Peninsula after
the North threatened to retaliate if South Korea pushed through with its
military exercise off Yeonpyeong Island, which was shelled by North Korea on
Nov. 23 in an attack that resulted in the death of four South Koreans.
==Kyodo